Her mother is described as having had a rather unpleasant life. The author implies that she had not married, at least not soon enough, and so she was not respected by the townsfolk. Amidst her mother's illness the author describes Eveline's thoughts being on the "pitiful vision of her mother's life" (647). The last words her mother repeated, "Derevaun Seraun" (468), also were not meaningful to Eveline, but instead she saw them as foolish. It is this foolishness that startles Eveline into a panic. The reader gets the impression that Eveline now saw her mother's life as meaningless, and for her to remain in the home would only give her the same dissatisfaction that she assumes her mother had had on her deathbed. It is unclear whether or not she respected her mother. While she certainly fears sharing the same fate, she feels a genuine remorse in thinking of abandoning her home.
It is at this moment of fear that she puts the burden of freeing her from her situation on to Frank. She feels helpless in her situation and sees him as the man to take her away if she has any hope of a life outside of that neighborhood. In saying "he would give her life, perhaps love" (468), the author suggests that Eveline thinks it is his masculinity that is going to save her from the oppressive life she would otherwise continue to live. As if every girl in the same position would have no other way of finding happiness than for it to be granted to them by a man of adventure. It is revealed later that this is not the case. It may require an outside force to remove Eveline from the life she is stuck living, but it is not her femininity at fault by any means. The reason that she cannot leave is ultimately because the core of her being is ingrained into the environment from which she has always lived. Upon approaching the quay she is struck with the reality of her dependence on Dublin and all that is familiar to her.
Title:Eveline -- A Character Analysis Description: 3 pages, 3 cites Body: "Eveline" - Character Analysis "There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision (James)." Originally appearing in Dubliners, a compilation of vignettes by James Joyce, his short story Eveline is the tale of such an unfortunate individual. ... James, William. ... Joyce, James. Eveline. ...